Radio One / SdM and Coffee to go Hand-in-Hand

Enjoying my Labour Day latté this morning. YUM.

This morning on CBC Radio One program, Daybreak, I got to talk about the upcoming Semaine de la Mode (Montreal Fashion Week). The mayhem kicks off tomorrow. Looks like I'll be needing a few more of these cup o' joes...

It being Labour Day, I also got to play a lot of music for Radio One listeners this morning, including bands that will be playing the upcoming Pop Montreal Festival (Tune Yards, Random Recipe among others), some PBJ, and some of my friend, Oscar's band, Holiday for Strings. 

Bodybag by Jude

With a weekend to recover from a a five-day digestion of catwalk images, card-swapping network types, and snippets of gossip at the barrage of shows that is Montréal Fashion Week, it is exciting that one of the collections that resonates most with me is none other than Bodybag, the label designed by the talented Jude Desjardins. The show started with a dramatic solo performance by cellist, Tyr, from the band, The Winks, and then settled into a collection of less-theatrical clothes.










This collection is not meant to shock, so much as it is to set Bodybag in good stead as a reliable, comfortable line offering pieces that you could conceive of wearing everyday, because of their ease and flattering fits. Stretch jersey cotton and tencil fabrics lent a breezy feel to the models swinging hips, while a more stiff, trenchcoat-heavy, hounds' tooth fabric used on strapless dresses and coats added a more sophisticated tone. Bodybag can be purchased online at PaperDoll, and Foundation Garments and at their Montréal boutique in the Mile End.

Montreal Fashion Week

Montréal Fashion Week / Semaine de Mode de Montréal kicked off today. Another gig made sure that I missed out on the Press Cocktail this afternoon, but tonight I'll be attending Marie Saint Pierre's show as well as the curated, fashion in short films series, FLY. Both events will take place at the Imperial, a theatre originally opened in 1913 and first used for vaudeville acts. How fitting for a fashion show to be brought (literally) to the theatre!

On a controversial (and sad!) note, some of Montréal's best and most innovative designers are not showing this year. Here are the Montréal designers who unfortunately will NOT be showing this season...

• Renata Morales (on tour with her boyfriend in Arcade Fire)
• Phillipe DuBuc (financial woes)
  
• Denis Gagnon (M.I.f.A. - Missing in Fashion Action)

A bientôt mes amis,
®